Public Statements

An Economy that Works for Everybody

Floor Speech

(Mr. YARMUTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, the richest 1 percent of Americans now control one-third of our Nation's income, 120 percent more than they did 30 years ago.

CEOs now earn hundreds of times what the average worker does. Wall Street profits are up 720 percent since 2007, and corporate taxes are at their lowest point since the fifties. All things considered, the wealthiest Americans are doing pretty well, much better than the rest of the country, in fact.

So you would think that after all these gains, the super rich--a handful of Americans who control fully a third of our economy--would understandably be asked to help as we try to bring our fiscal house back into order. But the Republican spending plan does none of this. It puts the burden of cuts solely on the shoulders of working families, those already struggling to make ends meet and provide for their families. The Republican plan spares the richest Americans from even the slightest inconvenience.

They have proposed to slash the budgets for programs that help seniors heat their homes, help low-income women find a doctor, and help millions of American students access job training or affordable college or health care. This is a reckless plan. We need to reject it and instead work to create an economy that works for everybody, and not just a wealthy few.